12 years a slave

International Christian Concern (ICC) has learned that 19 children, who were to be sold to fundamentalist Islamic boarding schools (madrassas), have been rescued. Traffickers lied to the children’s parents, saying they would take the children to Christian boarding schools in Dhaka, when in fact, they were intending to sell the children to various madrassas. Students from Dhaka University discovered the children and rescued them. This is not the first instance of Christian children being trafficked to madrassas, as upwards of 150 children have been rescued from similar situations since July 2012.

According to ICC sources, on Feb. 3, 19 children, ages 5 to 12, were rescued from a trafficker named Binoy Tripura. Binoy confessed that he “collected the kids from their parents with lies and convinced them that [he] will admit all the kids to a Missionary [Christian] school in Dhaka.” He then collected 15,000 Taka (Roughly $183 USD) from each of their parents and intended to receive payment from the madrassa upon delivery of the children.

The children, Christians from the Tripura tribe, realized something was not right during their long bus journey from the remote “Cimbuk Hill” in the Bandarban district to Bangladesh’s capital city, Dhaka. Twelve of the children ran away at a rest stop and called their parents to explain what was happening. Not knowing what else to do, the parents called Tripura tribal students attending Dhaka University, desperately asking for help. The university students met the bus in Dhaka, rescued the remaining six children, and captured Binoy, who is now in police custody.

This is not the first instance of traffickers targeting low-income, Christian families due to their faith and vulnerability. This year alone, 55 children have been rescued from madrassas in Dhaka. On Jan. 2, police rescued 21 children from five madrassas and “other Islamic organizations.” ICC sources say that these children were forcibly converted to Islam and had their Christian names legally changed to Muslim ones. They believe the children, once fully brainwashed at the madrassa, were “destined for suicide squads” for use in jihad.

ICC began receiving reports in July 2012 that Christian children were being trafficked to madrassas. The first 10 were rescued that same month and reported to ICC that they were forced to study Quran verses and Muslim prayers, pray five times a day, and learn Arabic. If they refused, they were beaten with live electric wires or rods, underfed, locked in small closets, and verbally abused. “I was beaten many, many times because I didn’t want to pray,” a rescued boy said. Sources indicate that as many as 200 more children may also be in need of rescue.

Slavery might have been abolished in the United States and in many Western nations, but unfortunately, Islam never got the memo. But what should really disgust you is that this is a regular occurrence. In Bangladesh, over 55 children have been rescued from Islamic madrassas in this year alone. In Egypt, it’s a common occurrence, which has gotten worse as the “Arab spring” has continued.

A new report from George Washington University professor Michele Clark and Coptic rights activist Nada Ghaly has argued that thousands of young Coptic Christian girls in Egypt are the victim of kidnapping and forced servitude by Muslims in the North African country.

Women and girls who are found indicate they were befriended by friends or relatives of their kidnappers, or the kidnappers themselves, drugged and then taken in a well-organized plan.

For those who return home, the stories they bring are horrendous and full of abuse. Many of them are raped by their captors, beaten, and pushed into domestic servitude. In addition, they’re brainwashed into believing that the only escape they have is to convert to Islam. All the while, the families of the victims are unaware of their daughter’s whereabouts or if their even alive.

In Bangladesh, kidnapped children are sent to Madrassas (Islamic schools) where they’re forced to study the Quran, learn Arabic and pray five times a day. This is all done to indoctrinate the children on Islam and eventually convert them, where they will likely end up in “suicide squads” for Jihad. Like the Janissaries of old, who were conscripted from enslaved Christian boys; these children are used to further the goal of Islam.

Sadly, due to the oppression in many Islamic countries and the fact that many of the victims are Christian minorities, the police refuse to help.

In recent years, Coptic Christian advocacy groups have lambasted the Egyptian authorities for allegedly not forcing the return of Coptic girls to their families after they have allegedly been kidnapped by Muslim men. Police and media have reported scores of missing women over the past few years and many quickly return to their families without much explanation.

In most cases, the police are the only ones who have the power to rescue those kidnapped. Taking the police out of the equation leaves the abducted children to the mercy of their Muslim captors. A fate which destroys their lives forever.

JEDDAH – Ethiopia is facilitating procedures to send 45,000 maids to the Kingdom every month, an informed source at the Ethiopian Embassy in Saudi Arabia has said.

Ethiopian housemaids have been high in demand after the Kingdom stopped recruiting housemaids from four countries, including Kenya, because the Kingdom has been unable to reach a satisfactory agreement with these countries, Asharq Al-Awsat reported Wednesday.

Noor Adeen Masfa, Vice Consul for Economic Affairs in Jeddah, said his department and committees from the Ethiopian Ministry of Labor met several times to facilitate the travel of housemaids to the Kingdom after they are properly trained in Ethiopia.

“We decided to finish procedures of 1,500 housemaids due to the increasing demand for Ethiopian housemaids by Saudi families. Ethiopian housemaids are trained well on Saudi customs and traditions, besides the percentage of runaways is low,” he said.

Unavailability of sufficient flights from Addis Ababa has also caused the delay in the travel of a large number of housemaids.

Some Saudi families have complained that their Ethiopian housemaids left their households after coming to the Kingdom to work illegally because they get lucrative offers from private companies and brokers. Masfa said this matter was studied and discussed. Deterring penalties will be put on housemaids who do that, he said.

“Some Saudi families employ housemaids illegally and pay them SR2,000 a month. That’s why many housemaids run away,” he added.

Masfa said the Ministry of Labor in Ethiopia is considering to put conditions in the contracts to allow housemaids use a cell phone and talk to their families and the consulate in the Kingdom.